Genotoxicity

In genetics, genotoxicity refers to a chemical agent's ability to damage a cell's genetic information, resulting in mutations that can lead to cancer. While genotoxicity and mutagenicity are sometimes confused, all mutagens are genotoxic, whereas not all mutagenic chemicals are genotoxic. Induction of mutations, mistimed event activation, and direct DNA damage leading to mutations are all examples of changes that can have direct or indirect impacts on DNA. Permanent, heritable changes might impact the organism's somatic cells or germ cells, which will be handed down to future generations. Cells use DNA repair or apoptosis to prevent the genotoxic mutation from being expressed; nevertheless, the damage may not always be repaired, resulting in mutagenesis.

A genotoxin is a chemical or substance that has the potential to damage DNA or chromosomes. A heritable changed characteristic could result from such injury in a germ cell (germline mutation). A somatic cell's DNA damage can cause a somatic mutation, which can lead to malignant transformation (cancer). Many in vitro and in vivo genotoxicity tests have been developed that detect DNA damage or its biological implications in prokaryotic (e.g., bacterial) or eukaryotic (e.g., mammalian, avian, or yeast) cells using a variety of endpoints. These tests are used to assess the safety of environmental chemicals and consumer products, as well as to investigate the mechanisms of action of known and suspected carcinogens.